A twenty-three-year-old farmer from Adrian, Michigan, Henry Steward enlisted on 4 April 1863 and was mustered in on 23 April. A non-commissioned officer, as were all Black officers, Steward was actively engaged in the recruiting of soldiers for the regiment. He died of disease at the regimental hospital on Morris Island, South Carolina, on 27 September 1863, and his estate was paid a $50 state bounty.